PC Irvine from Police Scotland North East Crime Reduction Unit would like to remind people of the ongoing issues with Authorised Push Payment Bank Fraud. In the past week, an Aberdeen resident lost over £20,000 to criminals via this fraud.

‘We continue to see examples of criminals pretending to be from your bank, making contact normally via phone, to warn you of fake suspicious activity on your bank account or that criminals have cloned your bank cards. They tell you they’ve set up a safe account for you to transfer your funds into however this is actually their account. This call is often followed up with a second call claiming to be from the Police, requesting your assistance with the investigation. The Police will never ask you to transfer money or purchase items on their behalf for evidence.’

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

·         Be suspicious of a call out of the blue from someone claiming to be from a position of authority. If in doubt, hang up, and            verify, not via the numbers given in the call. Where possible use a different phone line or mobile to make the call.

·         Take down the person’s details (name, authority, branch, department etc.) and verify using independent source contact details.

·         Speak to friends and family if you are unsure, regardless what the criminals tell you about the enquiry remaining undercover.

·         A genuine official from Police, Bank, HMRC or any trusted source will NEVER call you to ask you to verify your personal banking details, Pin, password or threaten you with arrest.

·         The Police will NEVER ask you transfer money, withdraw money on their behalf, buy items on their behalf for evidence or attend at your house to collect cash, bank cards or PIN numbers.

·         NEVER transfer money into another account unless you are 100% certain of the account owner.

·         Your bank will NEVER set up a safe account for you.

·         If you fall for a scam contact your bank as soon as possible, as they may, be able to stop the transfer.

If you receive a suspicious message via email, website or text message, you can take the following actions:

             #take5 #northeast crime reduction

This messaging system is not for reporting crime as responses are not monitored 24/7.  If you have time-critical information regarding the content of the above message, or if you wish to report any other non-urgent matter, please call 101.  In an emergency, call 999.

Police Scotland's North East Division covers rural and urban areas in Moray, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City.  The division has five territorial command areas which have their own dedicated Area Commander, who is responsible for the daily policing function.  Each command area is served by a number of community policing teams whose activities are built around the needs of the local community.  These teams respond to local calls and look for long term solutions to key issues.  They are assisted by the division's Crime Reduction Unit who deliver against Force and local priorities in a number of areas, including physical and social crime prevention, supporting and enhancing community engagement and creating and sustaining strong and effective partnership working.

#take5 #northeast crime reduction